This year, Women in Computer Science (WiCS) will not be funding travel to the Grace Hopper Celebration (GHC) in Chicago, IL, from Nov. 4-7. Despite funding in previous years, WiCS states three reasons for not doing so in 2025: university budget cuts, U.S. travel complications, and decreased DEI initiatives in the States.

This event is the world’s largest conference for women in technology, bringing together thousands from across the globe to learn, network and celebrate their accomplishments. A combination of technical and career sessions featured at the event are taught by leading researchers and enhance professional development.

While the first reason for cancellation is unrelated (yet also important), the other two are real implications of how the political relations between Canada and the U.S. are impacting students. According to WiCS, it would be difficult and dangerous to “cross the border in a bus full of students whose passports are from different countries, saying that we are travelling to a DEI conference.” The Government of Canada frequently updates U.S. travel advice and under President Trump’s second term, there has been tighter immigration enforcement and unpredictable experiences at the border. WiCS mentioned that it could be possible to limit the trip to Canadian citizens, students who are in the U.S. for co-op, and non-transgender students, but doing so would contradict the goals of having an inclusive learning environment.

Pertaining to the second reason, Trump has rolled back DEI initiatives, which means several universities and companies have publicly announced they would be defunding DEI, which may also include GHC. “Grace Hopper (and some participating companies and universities) may feel pressure to open attendance to all genders — which isn’t bad in itself, but in the past this has attracted handfuls of attendees who treat Grace Hopper only as a job fair (not as a mentoring and networking event) and who aggressively dominate the expo booths,” WiSC said. 

Janet Jian, who is in her third year of computer science at UW and business administration at Wilfrid Laurier University, also recognizes how important conference opportunities are to students for the networking aspect. “Networking at conferences offers students a valuable opportunity to showcase their strengths and learn more about different fields. For employers, it serves as a strategic method to capture high potential,” she said. “Nowadays, with the rise in competition in fields such as tech and finance, networking has become an essential step for students to successfully connect with employers.” 

Testimonies from students who attended the Grace Hopper Celebration conference in the past have noted great experiences of community, getting to meet like-minded people, and feelings of empowerment. Plenty of examples are listed on the WiSC website. 

“Attending the Grace Hopper Celebration was a truly magical experience, one that reinforced the feeling of community and solidarity among women in technology,” said Melanie Foltak, a software engineering student who attended the conference in 2024. “Hearing America Ferrera speak was a powerful reminder of the gratitude we owe to the women who came before us — those who have navigated challenging, uncomfortable spaces so that we might have greater opportunities today.”

Unfortunately, as the new administration in the U.S. continues to enforce policies and expand presidential power, the nature of Canadians’ relationship with the U.S. will continue to fluctuate and impact students and faculty at UW.